Look what they’re up to in Austin, TX… a very cool housing opportunity for the Chronically Homeless

Some highlights behind the idea — Community support appears to be a huge factor for this project. Residents have buy-in and are contributing to their neighborhood. Opposition and the NIMBY attitude are always a factor, but seem to be less present here. The idea is innovative and even exciting (there’s an outdoor movie theater!) to neighbors and others in the surrounding area. There are some prominent community members who are involved as well (someone get the number for the Alamo Drafthouse guy… he has a theater here in KC!). This has been almost a decade in the making and it will be very interesting to see how it progresses.

Food for thought — Plenty of people are interested in doing things that will help others and their community. There are actually business owners who are willing to be a part of bettering the place around them (gasp!). So, how can communities do a more efficient job of connecting people that want to help with these issues with local agencies who know where their talents can be most used? And how do communities engage those who could help, but don’t even know how much their resources might assist those in need (more easily than they might imagine)? How can our community utilize these practices to the fullest potential? After all, we’re all in this together.